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For the publisher:
Re Israel must rout Hamas for the sake of peace (May 14 column):
Bret Stephens should define precisely what he means by the rout of Hamas and what will look like the day after such a rout.
Yes, a more stable outcome for all would be a broad perception that Hamas miscalculated and harmed Palestinian interests. It is much easier said than done. And we have to be especially careful at this time when all the actions taken by the Israeli leadership against Hamas pave the way for a fifth round of the elections that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would try to win.
Mr. Stephens agrees that Israel made many mistakes before the fighting. But he fails to capture the madness and irresponsible behavior on the Israeli side, especially Prime Minister Netanyahu, Minister of Public Security Amir Ohana, and the Israel Police.
As Mr. Stephens notes, Hamas launched this campaign as part of a deeply cynical effort to achieve primacy as the leader of the Palestinian national movement. But the Israeli leadership provided Hamas with an opportunity.
So yes, Hamas is bad. Maybe we in Israel should have been more careful. And especially now, we have to be.
Daniel Sherman Modiin, Israel The writer is a former senior staff officer in the Israel Defense Forces who dealt with issues of strategic planning and the peace process.
For the publisher:
Re US should make aid to Israel conditional on conflict reduction (May 13 column):
Nicholas Kristof is right when he mentions that Israel once allowed the rise of Hamas as a counterweight to the Palestine Liberation Organization. But Israel did more than allow.
In 1981, Brigadier. General Yitzhak Segev, Israeli military governor of Gaza, told me that he was giving money to the Muslim Brotherhood, the forerunner of Hamas, on instructions from the Israeli authorities. The funding was intended to divert power from communist and Palestinian nationalist movements in Gaza, which Israel saw as more threatening than the fundamentalists.
Judging by a distressed phone call I later received from the army spokesman, General Segev’s superiors were not happy with his disclosure of a practice that did not seem very smart, even to the time. They were thinking incorrectly but apparently wished he had made his comments informally.
David K. ShiplerChevy Chase, Md. The writer was the bureau chief of Timess Jerusalem from 1979 to 1984.
For the publisher:
Re We Need a New Mideast Approach (guest essay, May 15):
I do not dispute Bernie Sanders’ plea for the rights of the Palestinian people. But he blames the contempt for these rights primarily on Israel.
These rights are compromised by the very government of Gaza, which is supposed to protect them. Hamas launches rockets at Israel from densely populated civilian areas, knowing full well that Israel will retaliate to destroy the source. Innocent civilians will be killed.
Protecting Palestinians begins with Hamas. It is Hamas that must place the rights of its citizens above its visceral hatred of Israel.
Ellen Shaffer Meyer Wilmington, Del.
For the publisher:
Bernie Sanders says we are seeing the rise of a new generation of activists who want to build societies based on human needs and political equality.
It is a wonderful and utopian thought, but when Hamas’s stated goal is the destruction of the State of Israel and the Hamas leadership refuses to negotiate with Israel and terrorizes Israeli civilians, regardless of the prime minister , that person cannot focus only on human needs and political equality. Israel’s leadership must focus on survival.
Geraldine WolkBronx
For the publisher:
Re Death of civilians on both sides raises specter of war crimes (front page, May 17):
Is it a war crime when civilians are collateral damage if military targets are the reason for the attack? Is it a war crime if the target of the bombs or rockets is civilians where there is no military target?
Edward GilbertStudio City, California
For the publisher:
Democrats’ split over Israel’s position (front page, May 16):
As an American Jew and Zionist, I have been appalled by the Trump administration’s support for right-wing religious extremists in the United States and Israel.
I have always despaired of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus’ agenda. The abuses against the Palestinian people by the Israeli and American governments go against the civic and religious definitions of justice that are said to be at the heart of both countries.
It breaks my heart. You don’t have to be progressive to protest.
Annlinn KrugerBar Harbor, Maine
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